Regulating the expansion characteristics of cementitious materials using blended MgO-type expansive agent

Abstract

To promote the application of MgO-type expansive agents (MEAs), the expansion stresses produced by compacted MEAs with different activities cured in water at 40 °C were measured using a self-designed expansion stress test apparatus. Based on these, different MEAs were divided into the early-type MgO expansive agent and the late-type MgO expansive agent classifications according to the stress curves of compacted MEAs. The two types of MEAs were blended with each other at different ratios and added into cement pastes. Results indicated that the expansion of the cement pastes added with blended MEAs lasted from the beginning to 200 days later, and the expansion characteristics can be regulated by adjusting the blending ratio of MEAs and the choice of types of MEAs. The results suggest that the expansion of MEAs can be improved by using blended MEAs in practical applications.